The GP2 Series has confirmed that, in the absence of its hoped-for 'winter series', it will stage a quartet of off-season test sessions before the end of the year, giving teams the chance to evaluate new talent alongside tried and trusted series regulars.
The series will make its return to the track next week, with a first two-day outing at Circuit Paul Ricard over 3-4 October. A second similar test will then follow over 31 October and 1 November, before attention switches to
Jerez, on 6-7 November and concludes at the same venue as the 2006 campaign kicked off, the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, over the first two days of December.
GP2 appears to be growing in both strength and stature after another nail-biting climax to the season, which saw rookie
Lewis Hamilton defeat 'old hand'
Nelson Piquet Jr in the last double-header of the year, and both drivers set their sights on
Formula One in 2007. While Piquet has already secured a testing role with world champions Renault, Hamilton remains focused on the second race seat at
McLaren, which would pit him against one
Fernando Alonso.
There has been good news for several other GP2 runners in recent weeks, too, with Adrian Valles and Alex Premat making their
F1 test debuts with Spyker MF1 at
Silverstone, Ernesto Viso expected to follow Premat into the team's third car for one of the final three grands prix of the year, and another 2006 rookie, Michael Ammermuller, being called up to fill the vacant third seat at
Red Bull Racing for China and Japan.
With five of the series' class of 2005 making the step up to Formula One this season - headed by inaugural champion
Nico Rosberg's race seat at
Williams,
Scott Speed's at Toro Rosso and runner-up
Heikki Kovalainen's test role at Renault - the class of 2006 waits to see who will make the grade for next year, while those currently outside the feeder series watches for vacancies at the leading teams for 2007.
![Olivier Pla - DPR Direxiv [pic credit: GP2 Series media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/236851.jpg)
